PeterB Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) As well as my Seafire 47, I will also try and get this one built. This was released about 8 years ago and was moulded by MPM - it looks like it may be related to the batch of SH kits I mentioned in my Seafire intro. It comes with decs for 2 of Jeffrey Quill's silver racers as shown on the box, and 2 service machines from around 1947 in standard camo. My past experience with Xtrakits has been quite varied, but the MPM moulded ones have not been too bad, though they have needed quite a bit of dry fitting and care to get them to line up. More as and when I find time - this is the 4th GB I am currently involved in with at least 2 more on the horizon so it could be a while. Cheers Pete Edited April 11, 2020 by PeterB 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 (edited) My previous GB are mostly finished so I had better make a start on this I guess. I have glued together the various cockpit parts - "floor", rudder pedals, stick, seat, front and rear bulkheads etc, and also glued the sides of the wheel wells into the lower wing. I will do a little adjusting to ease the fit and then both wing and fuselage can be closed up. The Seafire F47 is by Special Hobby rather than MPM but they are all part of the same group and the parts are generally similar though the Seafire is a bit more complicated as the F22 seems to be a "simplified" moulding for Hannants, with no optional bits, whilst the Seafire boxing comes with multiple props, tails etc. Hopefully they should both be faitrly quick builds depending of course on the fit, which is a good thingas I do not have that much time to get them finished and I was hoping to slip in the Italeri Spitfire Mk VII as well. I really must learn to do less GB, though in this case several I liked came up at the same time and now I have just under 6 weeks to get this one done. As long as I can continue to dissuade my wife from decorating my work room I should be in with a chance. Cheers Pete Edited June 2, 2020 by PeterB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 (edited) Good evening Pete Welcome aboard and have fun .. Very good start Best Regards Patrice Edited June 2, 2020 by TEMPESTMK5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 (edited) Bit of progress made. The fit is not too bad, though I get the impression that one fuselage half was not quite the same size as the other, There also was the usual problem with this type of 3 piece wing in that the gap between the upper wings was somewhat smaller than needed to fit the fuselage without a little filing. I guess when I was a kid I would have forced it on, which would probably ended up with anhedral instead of dihedral which may be one of the reasons for all the complaints in reviews that the "gull wing" was not properly represented! As I am building it with the canopy closed I have fitted the cockpit door in the closed position as well. So, on with a little filler followed by careful rubbing down. As I am not doing one of the 2 "silver" schemes on the racer used by Jeff Quill in the 1951 Daily Express Trophy race, it does not need to be perfect. Cheers Pete Edited June 3, 2020 by PeterB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 The main parts are together. Bit more cleaning up to do and then on with the primer, but I might wait until the Seafire is in the same state and do both at once. For some reason, although the cockpit is quite well detailed, MPM seem to have missed out the circular head rest pad so I have fitted one. The rudder comes in 3 parts - upper, the "twin" rudder tab, and a lower part. I could understand this on the Seafire because of the stinger tail hook, but looking at pics it does seem correct. Presumably the small lower part was fixed? I guess somebody out there can tell me! I have fitted the small triangular piece behind the headrest but have left off what I presume is the fuel filler until later as otherwise I would be certain to break it off. Unlike the SH Seafire kit, MPM have not provided glazing for the 3 lights under the belly although they have moulded circles for them, so I will drill them out and use a little Krystal Kleer on them. As you will see, the wing tip lights are seperate clear parts - nice but at my age they could be a real problem. Fingers crossed. The cockpit door clearly was not a very good fit! Still not worked out which of the wheels to use - the smaller 3 spoke or the slightly larger 4 spoke. Any thoughts? Cheers Pete 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Nice work on getting the MPM kit together Pete, that's looking great. Sorry, I have no idea about the wheels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 (edited) Hi Cookie, Research shows pics of the 22 with both 3 and 4 spoke wheels but no mention of the size. Unfortunately the problem with the wing to fuselage joint means I have ended up with it a little "left wing low" but it is not too obvious. I will have to take more care with the Seafire F47 - getting clumsy in my old age! Pete Edited June 11, 2020 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Pete, I remember now that there was a discussion about Mk 22 wheels here: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Hi Pete, On 6/10/2020 at 10:28 PM, PeterB said: Still not worked out which of the wheels to use - the smaller 3 spoke or the slightly larger 4 spoke. Any thoughts? I've found pics of Mk.22s with both 3 and 4, and the Valliant Wings Griffon Spitfire book says both. So either would be correct but if you're trying to model a particular Mk.22 try to find a pic? On 6/10/2020 at 10:28 PM, PeterB said: MPM seem to have missed out the circular head rest pad so I have fitted one. I'm quite confused about headrests. I did some searching and Edgar reckons they were deleted on Spits after 20-7-42; But Seafires (eg FR47) still had them. My CMR Mk.24 had a headrest and I removed it. But existing Mk.24s have them! I'm still not sure, I could always put it back I suppose. Cheers, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) Thanks Charlie, Yes - a lot of confusion, particularly as restored/preserved examples are not always a reliable source of info. I had not noticed the thread about headrests so perhaps I will remove the one from the Mk 22. Pete Edited June 12, 2020 by PeterB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 (edited) Rather than wait for the Seafire I decided to press on. With hand brushed acrylic paints it did not take long! The exhausts and underwing radiators are on. The Sky fuselage band needs a bit of work and the yellow leading edges need painting, but otherwise it is nearly done. Should be ready for a coat of gloss and the decs in a couple of days. Cheers Pete Edited June 17, 2020 by PeterB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 That's looking great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 Glossed and ready for decals. The prop that comes with the kit is a mess - not enough clearance at the bottom of the blades I think, and it is impossible to put the prop and spinner on the back plate without surgery. Fortunately my Special Hobby Seafire FR 47 has props for the Spit 21, 22 and 24, and the Seafire 45, 46, and 47 so I will use the spare 5 blader from that - might even have the correct blade length unlike the MPM/Xtrakit one. Cheers Pete. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Freightdog did a replacement prop for the Airfix kit that was the correct size, plus wheels and cannon IIRC. Might be still around if you are lucky. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Looks really nice Pete, super finish. Graham absolutely right about the Freightdog prop, still there for £5. I bought the Mk.24 prop which is excellent, though needed quite a bit of a clean-up. Cheers, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 Thanks guys, The spare SH one is a lot better, both in terms of blade shape and length (they give you the option of 5 short blades or 5 longer ones). Perhaps not entirely accurate blade shape but a darned sight better than the kit one! Pete 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 That does look better Pete. I too have raided many a Special Hobby Griffon Spitfire kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qn30jEkPz7 Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 Very nice! Having seen this and having the same kit I think I'll have to crack on with making the metallic alternative scheme 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 Some progress. Now just the top to decal before putting all the remaining bits and pieces on. Pete 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 I put the fuselage decs on today but I am not happy about the codes - the kit ones are in a shade of grey almost the same as the Ocean Gray I have used. According to the few pics I have found I believe they were more likely to be Sky, as @PlaStix has used on his. or even white, so I have overpainted them and will try again. Slightly tedious but these things happen! Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 (edited) Beginning to look a bit better now. Next up I will do the wing walkways and put the canopy on. I actually managed to glue the wingtip lights on without losing them - so far. Pete Edited July 7, 2020 by PeterB 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 (edited) As @LostCosmonauts mentioned in his build of this kit, the fit of the rear part of the canopy is terrible. I used a new scalpel blade to carefully thin and chamfer the bottom edge of the canopy, filed a bit of the fuselage spine behind the seat, and put in a little packing above the cockpit door, with this result. Not too bad. Hope I don't have the same problem with the SH Seafire 47 I am building, but that seems to be a bit better than this MPM moulding so fingers crossed. Now I can finish of the decs on the fuselage and wings and I will be getting there. I decided to leave off the fuel filler pipe under the canopy as I suspected it would get in the way. Cheers Pete Edited July 10, 2020 by PeterB 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Looks pretty good to me Pete. The colours really come out in that pic and the decals are spot on. You mentioned earlier 'hand brushed acrylics', what brand were they? When (if) I get a chance to make the same kit (languishing in the stash) it will definitely be camouflaged, having just done the Mk.24 in silver. It's in my bucket list to complete at 1/72 along with all the other major marks. Cheers, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 Hi Charlie, In this case Tamiya and mr Color but I also use Xtracrylic and Humbrol, though the latter usually needs more thinning. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) It fought me to the end - the doors for the retracting tailwheel were a lousy fit. Anyway all the bits are on and painted. I can't honestly say that I have enjoyed this build - there have been too many fit problems, but it has ended up looking passable. A quick spray of satin varnish and it will be done. I have left a couple of the tiny bits off - little bulge on top of the cowling and another underneath with the Rebecca aerial as frankly they are too small for me to handle. When I was (much) younger I used to love all the small bits and pieces - I think the best was a door handle on a Ratio pumping station which was the size of a pin head! These days I find them a bit too much sometimes. Cheers Pete Edited July 15, 2020 by PeterB 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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